Thursday, September 27, 2012

Welcome Guest Author Natalie Anderson! #IndulgenceBooks

Welcome, Natalie! Please share a
little about yourself, your genres, any other pen names you use.

Hi Laura – thanks so much for having me here on your blog!
I’m Natalie Anderson and I write contemporary romance with Entangled and
Harlequin Mills & Boon – and I love my job J

Aw, I love that! Okay, so, tell us a little about your latest or
upcoming release.

I’m so thrilled that my anthology, FLIRTING TO WIN is now
available! This is a three-in-one collection – with Bargain in Bronze, Seduction
in Silver and Gamble in Gold –
three stories set in London this past summer, with athletes in the family,
flash mobs on the Tube and a miniature, mischievous dog… not to mention a whole
lot of flirting!

What fun titles! Which character is your favorite and why?

Nope, I just can’t do it. I have not one, not two, but THREE
gorgeous heroes in this anthology and I simply cannot pick a winner… I’m just
going to take all three… the protective, but surprisingly playful big brother;
the wounded warrior who can give so much but refuses to receive anything for
himself; and the supposed playboy who has a heart of gold…

LOL! Will there be any sequels or other books in the same series?

There are none planned at this stage—you can just get all
THREE stories in the one volume now—go one, what are you waiting for?! ;)

A threefer! That’s so cool! What was the hardest thing for you about
writing these stories?

The hardest thing for the anthology was logistical this
time—in terms for finding the sheer time to work. I somehow wrote four books a
year when I had four preschoolers, so I’m used to fitting writing in all around
the wee small hours, but this time I had some illness in the family and it made
things tricky! But that’s just the way life works sometimes, once I got the
hours to lock myself away, it was so good to get on and get right into the
stories J

Time really can be the biggest challenge, can’t it? What are you
working on right now?

I’m working on a duo—it’s got quite a special quirk to it
(that I’m not going to give away!) that makes it a fun challenge to write.
After that I’m diving straight into a full-length contemporary that I can’t
wait to get stuck into!

Good luck with it all! What happened to the first book you ever wrote?

In terms of seriously attempting a full-length romance? I
wrote it Nanowrimo style one June after I’d found the book, No Plot, No Problem in my local library.
Halfway through the draft, just as the book predicted, I came up with a much
better idea… but I forced myself to finish it. Then I went on and immediately
wrote that other idea. I went on to write yet another and that’s the one I submitted
to a publisher and I was fortunate enough to have it accepted… from then on
it’s been busy!

But that very first draft of a first book is still on an old
computer somewhere… I can’t drag it out though as I password protected it and
now all these years later I have NO idea what that password was!!!

Oh no! LOL What a great story! What do you find easiest and hardest to
write?

In terms of ease, it’s those magic moments when I’m eyeballs
deep in the scene and in my characters’ heads and it’s just flowing and I’m
grinning away at my computer screen like a loon and my fingers won’t work fast
enough to get it down… that’s the BEST feeling.

The hardest is when the words come at a rate of one an hour…
when I’ve written myself into a corner and I can’t see the way out of it!
That’s when it’s time to take a shower or go for a walk… or eat! ;)

I so identify with that! Have you incorporated actual events or people
from your own life into your books?

Not so much actual events and people, but I do use some
things I’ve experienced (or seen others experience). Gamble in Gold, for example, features a running hero. My own
hero-hubby has run a couple of marathons (including the New York Marathon) – so
I know the dedication and drive that goes into that and the kind of mental
strength those athletes really do have. I put a twist onto it though by having
Luke be a guide runner for a Paralympic athlete. And yes, this anthology is set
against this past sporting summer in London backdrop—but its all fiction from
then on!

Awesome! Is there a theme or message that runs through your work?

I think I often have heroines who are searching for more
than a ‘mate’ – often they’re at a crossroads in their career choice and it’s
about finding the courage to go for what they really want. I am a bit of a
believer in the ‘whole being greater than the sum of its parts’ thing, so I
love to have my heroes and heroines end up in relationships where they’re
equally supportive and both go on to do things they never dreamed they could
before.

Yes, I love that, too! Which romance book or series (or other genre, if
you don’t write romance) do you wish you had written?

As a teen I alternately read romance and crime, so I guess
I’d love to write crime at some point in my career. But I really don’t know
enough about guns and bodies and all that… so I’m thinking it’ll have to be a
‘cozy mystery’ type. I adore a series of books written by the Little sisters in
the 1940s and 50s – the books all have ‘black’ in the title – they’re frothy
plots but very clever and amusing and I love how the heroines never have any
intention of doing housework. Ever.

Of all the characters you’ve ever written, who is your favorite and
why?

Oh my – this is like choosing between children for a
favourite! And it is so impossible. If I think about them all I love them for
different reasons. And honestly, the characters of mine I personally find most
intriguing are the ones not on paper yet—the glimpses of that mysterious guy
lurking at the edge of my sub-conscious and the fiery heroine who’d going to
make his life hell for a while… creating/meeting/discovering new characters is
definitely one of my favourite parts of the process!

Salty or sweet? Both – and yes, at the same time. Chocolate-dipped
pretzels, that kind of thing. Why limit yourself?! ;)

Bed or kitchen table? LOL. Kitchen table

Beach or mountains? Hmmmm – can I have a mountain by the beach?
I come from a temperate climate where we have four pretty delineated seasons,
and I love them all. So beach in summer, mountain in winter—that way you get
the best of all!

Give or receive? Definitely give—I love planning and trying to
come up with something really special. I’m a big fan of ‘active’ gifts—things
to do
rather than things to have J

FLIRTING TO WIN – an Indulgence Anthology

Gamble in Gold

The one that
got away...

Seven years
have passed since shy Lexie Peterson had her heart trampled by her teenage
crush. When she comes face to face with him in London, she vows to stay strong
against his charms. But there's something about the man who has always made the
impossible seem possible.

When Luke
Marchetti walks into his flat to find Lexie in a negligee, all he can think of
is having a little flirt and fling. But sweet, caring Lexie is all grown up
now, and her determination to keep him at a distance makes him realize she
deserves more than he can offer.

One kiss when
they were younger ignited a passion that lasted seven long years. But is it
enough to entice the two to take a gamble on love?

Seduction in
Silver

A limited
engagement...

For two weeks
Nina Breslin had passed an enticing stranger when catching the Baker Street
Tube to go to work. So utterly sexy, and enticingly foreign, she figures he's
eons out of her league--until the day he makes an outrageous proposal.

Dr. Eduardo
Ruiz needs a break from the heart-breaking reality of his job. So when he
finally introduces himself to the vivacious woman he's been admiring, he
quickly realizes they could help each other with their sticky situations...and
have great fun in the process.

They agree to
an outrageous plan. For one night only, she'll masquerade as his girlfriend to
appease his overzealous family members, and he'll accompany her to meet with
her ex-fiancé's friends, pretending to be her attentive lover. Can they play by
their own rules, or will they succumb to the pull of seduction?

Bargain in
Bronze

If you can't
take the heat...

Entrepreneur
Libby Harris's specialty is making her famous muesli. So when an Olympic
hopeful invites her to his flat to make her delicious cereal, she's bewildered
when his brother Jack walks in, accusing her of trying to ruin his brother's
career. Libby has every intention of staying single, but with Jack around, no
way can she suppress the personal pleasure she's long denied herself.

Investment
banker extraordinaire Jack Barnes's attraction to Libby is instantaneous, but
he's raised his two siblings after their parents died in an accident, and it's
been all work and no play for as long as he can remember. He can't let down his
guard now--not when his brother is so close to the gold. But keeping Libby busy
and out of his brother's life challenges every ounce of his self-control.

Until now...

Neither wants a
relationship, and though they can't deny their incredible chemistry, Libby and
Jack agree that what they have is temporary. So when things start to sizzle
between them, will they be able to take the heat?

9 comments:

All three of the books sounds so fun and flirty! I can't wait to see how they all turn out. Thanks for the great interview and giveaway!Have you every thought about writing romantic suspense? It might fill the need for the crime and romance that you love so much! I love romantic suspense, so I would definitely love to read it. :)slinkydennis@yahoo.com

Thanks so much for having me here today!!!!!! And good luck in the draw Rhonda, Pam, Joanne and Rebecca :) :) :)

Rhonda - I have thought about romantic suspense, but I think I'm definitely the 'coz' sort rather than the 'gory' sort - but I need my kids to be a bit older first before I can really write more - so perhaps one day! :)

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